International Development Association (IDA)

Today is “End Poverty Day.” This is an important marker in the fight to end extreme poverty by 2030—a time for us to renew our collective commitment to do more and better to end poverty, and reflect on what the global community has accomplished together.

Since 1960, the International Development Association, IDA, has stood at the frontlines of our work in the poorest countries. IDA investments help spur greater stability and progress around the world by preventing conflict and violence, generating private sector investment, creating jobs and economic growth, preventing the worst effects of climate change, and promoting gender equality and good governance.

With IDA’s help, hundreds of millions of people have escaped poverty—through the creation of jobs, access to schools, health facilities, social safety nets, roads, electricity, and more. Our most recent results show quite simply that IDA works. For example, from 2011-17, IDA helped more than 600 million people receive essential health services, 30 million pregnant women receive prenatal care from a health provider, recruit 8 million teachers, and immunize a quarter of a billion children.

Another year has passed, and as we do each year-end, here’s a rundown of what content resonated most with you on World Bank social media in 2016.

Four World Bank Facebook posts you cared about most

Some of our most popular and engaging content on Facebook in 2016 was, not surprisingly, multimedia. Check out these posts that made the biggest impact with you in the last year.

On October 17 – now recognized as End Poverty Day – Bangladeshi singer Habib Wahid unveiled a new song singing the praises of his country’s rapid progress in reducing poverty and building a prosperous society. Check out the video, and remember why you poured out your approval with more than 161,000 views, 65,000 reactions, and 4,600 shares!

Most of us don’t think much beyond these questions when we check the weather report on a typical day. But weather information plays a much more critical role than providing intel on whether to take an umbrella or use sunscreen. It can help manage the effects of climate change, prevent economic losses and save lives when extreme weather hits.

For the first time in history, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty has fallen below 10%. The world has never been as ambitious about development as it is today. After adopting the Sustainable Development Goals and signing the Paris climate deal at the end of 2015, the global community is now looking into the best and most effective ways of reaching these milestones. In this five-part series, I will discuss what the World Bank Group is doing and what we are planning to do in key areas that are critical for ending poverty by 2030:good governance,gender equality,conflict and fragility, preventing and adapting to climate change, and, finally, creating jobs.

Good jobs are the surest pathway out of poverty. Research shows that rising wages account for 30 to 50% of the drop in poverty over the last decade. But today, more than 200 million people worldwide are unemployed and looking for work — and many of them are young and/or female. A staggering 2 billion adults, mostly women, remain outside the workforce altogether. In addition, too many people are working in low-paying, low-skilled jobs that contribute little to economic growth. Therefore, to end poverty and promote shared prosperity, we will need not just more jobs, but better jobs that employ workers from all walks of society.